Cale Makar a name to remember
Twenty-plus years ago when Ukrainian Gary Makar and Laura MacGregor were seeking a name for their newborn son, they settled on Cale. Gary was working in the Calgary Flames marketing department at the time when Cale Hulse was a key member of the team’s defense corps. They both liked the name and chose it for their son.
The name Cale Makar shot into prominence in mid-April of this year, when in a span of four days he won the Hobey Baker Award (U.S. college hockey’s top player), played in the Frozen Four championship game (losing to Minnesota-Duluth, 3-0), signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche and then scored a goal on his first shot in his first ever NHL game, a 6-2 victory over Calgary in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The odds are good the hockey world will be hearing his name a lot in the future. It may even appear on the Norris Trophy a few times for being selected the NHL’s most outstanding defenseman. The fourth overall selection of the Avalanche in 2017 was rated the No. 1 prospect outside the NHL in a poll of NHL scouts and player personnel directors. Anyone who saw Makar play for the University of Massachusetts Minutemen the last two years agreed he had NHL skating, NHL hockey IQ, NHL passing and an NHL shot. In summation, he has all the tools.
He’s also amassed quite a full trophy case thanks to his penchant for winning – on team and individual levels. UMass’ first Hockey East regular season championship, two Alberta Junior League titles with the Brooks Bandits, a gold medal in the World Junior A Hockey Challenge and a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2018 World Junior Tournament begin the list on the team level.
Individually, the Hobey Baker award followed Makar being the only player in the history of the RBC Cup (Canada’s Junior A national championship) to be named MVP and top defenseman in back-to-back years. He was rookie of the year in the AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League) and the Canadian Junior League, then was named top defenseman in the AJHL in 2016-2017.
Makar flew under the radar because he did not play major junior and chose not to play in a prominent university hockey program. He further declined an invitation to join Canada’s Olympic team in 2018, instead being resolute in his convictions, holding loyalty as an important personal character trait. UMass recruited him in his first year of Junior A hockey and he stuck with the Minutemen even when the coach who recruited him was fired and replaced by ex-Ottawa assistant coach Greg Carvel. This turned out to be a blessing for both parties, as Carvel was in Ottawa for the first two years of Erik Karlsson’s NHL career and immediately recognized the similarities between the two defensemen.
Comparing a 20-year-old who has appeared in a handful of NHL games to a multiple Norris Trophy winner and one of the best defensemen of his generation is very heady praise. The two are not identical, primarily because Karlsson is unique with what he does when the puck is on his stick. Where Makar stands out is how he processes the game at an extremely quick level and is capable of making the most of what is given to him. This makes it almost impossible to defend: if even he cannot anticipate what he’s going to do until he sees what’s in front of him, how can opponents defend against him? He, too, is poised with the puck, but does not move it as well as Karlsson or get it on net as accurately. Some claim Makar skates a bit better than Karlsson, plays harder on the puck and is better defensively. At 6-feet and 192 pounds, Makar will be a heavier presence in the NHL.
He’s definitely an offensive defenseman who will pinch in at the blueline, carry the puck end-to-end and be daring on a pass, but he tends to only take risks that he can back up. Instead of joining Canada’s Olympic team in 2018 as a seventh defenseman, he chose to stay with his UMass teammates for three weeks during a key part of the season. He dutifully finished his second college season, leading his Minutemen to the Frozen Four final before deciding to turn pro.
Makar is totally committed to his studies, carrying a 3.5 grade-point average, intent on working to earn his degree in sports management in the future. The plan was at least two years in college, where he would develop his skill set, followed by a smooth transition to pro hockey.
From juniors to world tournaments to college through to the Frozen Four, at every level he reaches, there seemingly is zero adjustment time. Makar’s game is tailor-made for today’s high-speed NHL, where mobile and intelligent defensemen are a most coveted asset. The youngster embraces any and all challenges, accepts his role and respects his teammates. Proof of this is how he arrived ready to contribute as a sixth defenseman against Calgary in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. All he did was score what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 6-3 Avalanche victory.
The future looks very bright in Colorado, particularly on defense. Connor Timmins, another champion on Team Canada’s 2018 WJC squad, was a second-round pick in 2017 and projects as an NHLer in 2019-2020. Samuel Girard came over from Nashville in the three-team Matt Duchesne trade, and there are holdovers Tyson Barrie and Nikita Zadorov. Add it all up and this up-and-coming defense corps becomes more than a handful for the opposition to deal with when it comes to mobility on the ice. Partnering this defense with a strong, talented group of forwards plus solid goaltending means a very bright hockey future for the Colorado Avalanche.
Likewise for hockey’s top prospect, named Cale Makar.
Makar musings: He dressed in jersey No. 10 in Colorado’s playoff games, firmly establishing himself as a two-way threat on the Avalanche blue-line; he contributed offensively with a goal and five assists, was more than capable defensively (+3) and gave out his share of aggressive hits while skating with fellow youngster Samuel Girard; he also saw time on the Avs’ second power-play; and he further contributed with 10 takeaways and ten blocked shots; he had no problem being accepted as one of the guys in the locker room.
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].